The Cagri Bey set sail from a southern Turkish port in a ceremony during which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed participants by phone and said he hoped to hear "good news from Somalia," according to Turkish media. Erdogan announced the start of drilling during a visit to Istanbul by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, shortly after Israel recognized Somaliland.
The drillship is en route to the Somali coast in what Ankara called a historic step, as it will be the first time a Turkish drillship operates outside Turkey. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who attended the ceremony alongside Somalia's energy and transportation ministers, said drilling would take place at depths of several thousand meters in an area believed to hold oil reserves.
The vessel is expected to reach its destination in about 45 days, sailing via the Strait of Gibraltar and around the Cape of Good Hope, escorted by ships from the Turkish Navy. In 2024, Ankara and Mogadishu signed energy cooperation agreements granting Turkey exploration rights in three offshore blocks.
Footage circulated on social media over the weekend and reported by the Somali news site Garowe Online showed outdated US-made M48 and M60 tanks moving in a protected convoy through Mogadishu after being unloaded from a Turkish Navy landing ship. According to the report, the tanks were deployed to secure Turkish facilities in the Warsheikh area, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the capital, where Ankara is building a spaceport intended for satellite launches and, according to reports, ballistic missile tests.
Somalia's Defense Ministry and the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu did not issue official responses to the reports.
The transfer of tanks adds to Turkey's deployment of F-16 fighter jets to Somalia in late January. According to Agence France-Presse, the aircraft are operated by Turkish forces stationed in the country rather than by the Somali army. "This is for our security," a Turkish official told the French news agency.
NEW: Turkish F-16 fighter jets deployed to Somalia were seen flying at low altitude over Mogadishu. pic.twitter.com/pU23coILgH
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 3, 2026
Since 2017, Turkey has operated its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu, where it trains thousands of Somali soldiers and assists in the fight against the al-Shabab terrorist organization. Turkish officials described the fighter jet deployment as part of efforts to strengthen counterterrorism capabilities, though it took place amid rising tensions in the Horn of Africa following Israel's recognition of Somaliland, a move Ankara condemned as "blatant interference in Somalia's internal affairs."
In February 2024, Turkey and Somalia signed a 10-year defense agreement under which Ankara committed to building, training and equipping the Somali Navy. "The Netanyahu government is dragging the Horn of Africa into instability," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Mohamud on December 30. The Somali president described Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an "unacceptable aggressive approach."
